Sheen a good example of how not to behave

I broke out laughing the other night watching an interview with Page2Live.com’s Jose Lambiet in a Channel 25 WPBF News segment about Charlie Sheen’s marriage to Palm Beacher Brooke Mueller.

Lambiet was dishing that Mueller wanted to return to Los Angeles and reunite with Sheen when he said, “L.A. is obviously not good for people who are prone to having drug and alcohol problems.” I thought to myself, “and Palm Beach is?”

As if to confirm my cynical view, Donald Trump said, “I’ve seen worse,” when asked his opinion about Sheen on Late Night with David Letterman. Sheen and Mueller met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, where her parents are members.

Sheen obviously has two big problems: crack addiction and so much money and influence that he’s been able to avoid the consequences for his many brushes with the law.

Addicts will often lie, steal, cheat and explode violently to feed their addiction and maintain the delusion that they are still in control of their lives — hence, Sheen’s assertion that he is a “rock star from Mars” who doesn’t have to answer to anyone.

His ludicrous on-camera ramblings notwithstanding, addiction is not a funny subject. Knowing parents whose children have gone down that path, I have nothing but sympathy for Sheen’s family. I’ve never poked fun at addiction in a cartoon.

However, I’ve drawn plenty of cartoons about how great wealth can enable all kinds of destructive, narcissistic and antisocial behavior. The Palm Beach area is loaded with examples such as polo magnate John Goodman, charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in the accident that led to the death of 23-year-old Scott Wilson, and the unrepentant debauchery of billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

My cartoon from Dec. 14, 2008, was a commentary about how Epstein’s wealth and political connections allowed him to skirt any significant criminal consequences for his actions.

At the time, it had come to light that the Palm Beach County Sheriff was releasing Epstein during his incarceration, allowing him to spend six 16-hour days a week at his West Palm Beach office — as long as he paid for the deputy who guarded him. He only returned to the stockade to sleep.

Despite his designation as a sex offender, he continued to be belligerent toward the families of his then-under-aged victims and completely unremorseful after his release. His attorneys have been reprimanded for badgering victims who filed civil claims against him.

There are times when, sadly, Charlie Sheen may be right. The “itchy, uncomfortable mantle of morality” doesn’t always apply to people with mega-money and influence.
It’s easy to see why some believe their “Adonis DNA” is too much for the rest of us to handle.

Sheen, and people like him, can cause a lot of damage before they ultimately go down in flames.